


How to Calm a Rabbit

by rixsig-writes (rixsig)



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, koga taking advice way too literally, mika kagehira's ever-growing state of confusion, pardon koga's perpetual potty-mouth, ritsu constantly laughing from the sidelines, uses they/them pronouns for narukami arashi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-18
Updated: 2018-01-18
Packaged: 2019-03-06 09:35:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13408452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rixsig/pseuds/rixsig-writes
Summary: Koga's a lone wolf; he doesn't need friends. But somehow he's finding himself trying to make one anyway....thankfully the steps on this list don't look too hard.





	How to Calm a Rabbit

**Author's Note:**

> yes, this entire fic is indeed inspired by a wikihow article
> 
> special thanks to my buddies six and rits for always keeping my rarepair tanks fueled, god bless

 

  * _Rabbits are shy and nervous little creatures. Because they are hunted in the wild by animals and people, they will need a lot of encouragement and socialization to become friendly. This tutorial will tell you what to look for and how to act when Mister bunny is upset._



 

 

“Stupid fucking vampire bastard,” Koga grumbles, plopping back in his seat just as the bell rings. Ritcchi and Isara are still missing which means that the mini-vampire will be getting his ass forcibly dragged to class today. Probably at least five minutes late ‘cause Koga can’t smell him anywhere in the building yet.

Whatever. That’s fine. It’s not like he wants to talk to them anyway. Koga still wants to tear Ritcchi a new one for forcefeeding him some of that bullshit he called his latest batch of experimental ‘sweets,’ and Isara’s attached to that little bastard’s hip so.

“My, my, you’ve got a dark look on you today, don’t you?” Arashi comments mildly, not a single hair or lash out of place despite how early in the morning it is. “Want big sis to lend you an ear?”

Koga twists in his seat to shoot a scowl in that direction. “Shut up, I didn’t ask anyone to pry.”

But as always, no matter how friendly Arashi is to everyone else there’s a core of steel in there that’s frankly kind of scary. Koga does his best to glower back at Arashi’s patient stare. He’s not gonna be the one that caves, he’s not gonna be the one that caves, he’s not gonna be the one that—

“The Sakumas are a curse and I hate them,” Koga spits out after a long moment of uncomfortable eye contact, spinning back frontways in his desk and glaring down at it instead.

“Both of them today?” Arashi says, interest perked. “In a tiff with Ritsu-chan? He really does love to torment you doesn't he.”

“That son of a bitch needs to stop using me as a guinea pig.”

“Oh, you know that's just how he shows his affection.”

“Affection my ass.”

“Now, now Koga-chan, isn't it better to just make up? It's a shame to stay mad at a friend for too long.” Already losing interest in the conversation, Arashi produces a pocket mirror from thin air and double checks their make-up.

“We’re not friends!” Koga snaps, subsiding into a fuming sulk right after at the quelling look Arashi shoots him.

The whole conversation rubs Koga the wrong way, pulling at raw nerves that that old, lame vampire bastard already yanked on without remorse. Friends. Koga doesn't need friends. He’s a lone wolf. And he gets along with his classmates just fine just like this. He does his own shit and sometimes one of these nosy fucks will invite themselves along and it’s...fine. Not bad.

 _I’m not here to make friends,_ Koga thinks bitterly, as if he could stab Sakuma with his thoughts alone. _I’m here for you, you senile has-been._

But he can't shake the thought, no matter how stupid it is. Who would he even try to be buddy-buddy with here? It’ll be a cold day in hell before he’s besties with Ritcchi, Isara’s boring, Fushimi is…no, and Koga will gnaw his own leg off before giving Arashi more opportunity to nag him.

Which leaves...Koga’s eyes settle on the unassuming smudge of a person huddling in the seat next to Arashi.

Mika Kagehira.

Koga doesn’t actually know much about him, which is weird since they’re classmates. Even if you’re trying not to pay attention it’s kind of inevitable, right? Learning shit about the people around you? But Kagehira’s usually pretty quiet and always overshadowed by Arashi and Koga can’t remember if they’ve ever even talked before. They had to have, right? But no matter how much he wracks his brain he can’t come up with a single goddamn conversation he might have had with the guy.

Koga sees a flash of mismatched eyes before Kagehira’s head ducks again and finally realizes he’s been staring that way for a while now. Ah. He’s been caught. Not like it matters. But it’s kind of weird, huh, how startling that split-second of eye-contact was. Guess they haven’t met eyes much before either. Class begins and Koga looks back up front and does his best to mind his own business. Can’t do anything now anyway.

It isn’t until lunch break when Arashi runs out to talk to someone or another that Koga sees an opening. He sets down the pencil he’s already halfway chewed through, gets up, walks over, and flops down without ceremony in Arashi’s vacant seat. Kagehira jumps and fixes him with wide eyes.

Shit. Koga didn’t think of anything to say.

“Nnnnn,” Kagehira ventures after a long stalemate, one hand picking nervously at a loose thread on his shirt sleeve, “hey Koga-kun. D’ya need something?” He breaks eye-contact again, looking first at the floor then at some distant point on the wall then somewhere around the sloppy knot of Koga’s tie.

“Uh.” Koga flounders for a second before his brain catches onto something. “You play any card games?”

Kagehira darts a glance at Koga’s face, looking puzzled. “Well, Oshi-san’s tried to teach me to play Baccarat a few times but ’m not very good at it...”

Ugh. Baccarat. Koga wrinkles his nose. That just reminds him of the vampire bastard again. “Baccarat sucks. You never play anything better than that?”

“No…”

Kagehira’s head turns slightly toward the door and then back, there and then back. God, this guy is fidgety; he’s gonna yank that thread right out if he keeps pulling at it like that. Koga looks at the door too, just in case he’s missing something. Nah, no one’s there.

Kagehira mumbles something.

“What.” Koga says.

“‘Mgonnalookfornaru-chan!” Kagehira blurts. He rockets up from his seat so fast he bangs his knee against the leg but doesn’t even seem to notice, stumbling out into the aisle and then out the door before Koga can even decipher what he just said.

“Oi!” Koga calls after him, staggering to his feet, “Where the fuck do you think you’re going?! I wasn’t done!”

Ritcchi peels his face off his desk for just long enough to snicker at him.

“Fuck off.” Koga snarls.

“Corgi can’t get anyone to play with him today, huh~?”

“I said fuck off!”

Koga strides out the door after him, Ritcchi’s second burst of taunting laughter following him into the hallway. Damn, where’d he go so fast? He takes a step one way, then a step another way, indecisive. He sniffs at the air and then charges down what’s got to be the right direction. Weird fruity hard candy and a whiff of that frilly bastard’s house, right?

But he’s so focused on his nose he misses the bright splash of blonde right in front of his face and they both go tumbling to the ground, Koga bumping his elbow hard. “Yeowch! Damn it!” he spits, quickly rolling off whoever that is and clutching at his elbow. “Oi, are you alright?”

“Hey shtop it, you need to watch where you’re gowwing!”

Koga’s about to snap back, but he realizes he’s not even the one being talked to and his mouth clicks shut. Koga watches as Nito keeps chiding the first year in his grasp as he hauls the kid up and starts brushing him down like a fussy mother. The kid fidgets impatiently. That’s the one on the track team with Adonis, right…? Sure looks like he could run more than a few miles. When Koga finally hauls himself up, Nito takes notice of him and apologizes profusely, making the kid apologize too.

“Nah, I wasn’t paying much attention either,” Koga confesses, scuffing at the ground with his shoe. Wait. Nito used to know Kagehira pretty well, right? Not that he sees them together much anymore, but. Couldn’t hurt. He clears his throat. “Hey, uh. So. Can I ask you somethin’? About Kagehira…”

Ah, shit. Koga didn’t think of anything to say here either.

Nito’s eyebrows fly up. “Mik—” He cuts himself off, waits a second, and tries again. “You want something with Kagehira?”

“Yeah. Just. Y’know. How do you talk to the guy?”

Nito stares at him for just long enough to make Koga feel extremely uncomfortable.

“We haven’t...talked much before…” Koga adds lamely.

More staring.

“H-He ran off and I dunno what I did.” Is that sweat running down Koga’s back? Yeah, he thinks it is.

Suddenly the intensity in Nito’s gaze is gone. “Oh! Yeah, he can be a little shy—”

“Hey! Come on, come onnnnn,” the kid whines, pulling at Nito’s grasp on him. He’s looking out the window like an inmate trapped in prison would.

“Mitsuru-chin, just give big brother another minute. We’ll be there in time, promise.” Nito hums in thought and looks back at Koga. “You should just be gentle with him.”

Koga looks back in complete incomprehension. “But I was?”

Oh _great_ , now Nito looks like he’s going to laugh at him, that’s much better. “Um. Maybe try being less aggressive about it?”

Koga’s eyebrows scrunch together. “But…”

“Make your voice a little softer. Be patient. Treat him like...like a cute animal! Like, like…” Nito’s eyes land on the kid and they brighten. “Like a rabbit!”

“A rabbit,” Koga repeats slowly, like he’s just been given a piece of ultimate wisdom. “I gotcha. Don’t know much about those though…” Now dogs, those he knows the ins and outs of. If he could treat Kagehira like one of those it’d be smooth sailing the whole way.

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” Nito says, attention already distracted again. “Good luck!” And then he’s off, pulled by the never-ending locomotive of energy that is Mitsuru.

Rabbit, huh. Koga ponders as he turns and heads back into the classroom. He might need to do some research on that.

 


End file.
